


To Make a Buisness From a Tradgedy

by Wonderland_Reject



Category: Hat Films - Fandom, The Yogscast
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Injury, Mild Gore, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 20:47:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14505186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wonderland_Reject/pseuds/Wonderland_Reject
Summary: Alex, Ross, and Chris decided to make the best out of the apocalypse. They started the Hat Films Zombie Extermination buisness, and go around clearing out malls and hotels for little colonies of humans.





	To Make a Buisness From a Tradgedy

The zombie apocalypse started approximately three years ago, but to the surviving humans, it felt like decades. Human’s had learned patterns of zombies, where they frequented, and other such habits of the creatures, so human survival rates were on the rise. Groups of people, friends from a life seemingly long forgotten, or people met on the road, forced together, wanted to start settlements.  


This is where Hat Films Zombie Extermination entered.  
Ross Hornby, Chris Trott, and Alex Smith made up the company. The three had always been con men, and the zombie apocalypse just meant a new opportunity. Obviously, there was no more phones or internet, so their business had to thrive by word of mouth. The three tended to roam from place to place to help people rid areas of infestations.  


Zombies liked to stay together in hoards, and they mostly frequented places that were once populated with human life. This made cities like New York, London, Beijing, and other similar cities absolutely uninhabitable. On a smaller scale, malls, movie theatres, beaches, and popular hang outs tended to be the infested areas of otherwise habitable places. This became a problem when humans wanted to settle. Generally the best areas to settle were areas like malls or hotels, places where lots of people could stay, there were lots of provisions, and blocking them up and defending were fairly easy.  


The Hat Films Zombie Extermination boys had come across one such pack of humans who had found the ideal mall space. Lucky for the three, the elected leader of the fairly large group of humans had heard of the company.  


“So you’ll clear this whole mall of zombies for us in exchange for what?” Asked Lewis, the group’s leader.  


“Anything we find in the mall that we want and can carry. We are only three men, really, how much can we actually get?” Said Chris Trott, the shortest of the three. He was the elected speaker/negotiator for their group.  


“And you’ll clear out the whole mall of zombies?” A skeptical blond from the group chimed. She looked over to the mall, which was a mile off and swarming with activity. It looked like a Walmart on a Black Friday back before the whole zombie thing.  


“Yes ma’am. We guarantee the mall will be zombie free,” the tallest of the three, Alex Smith, winked knowingly at the woman.  


“You just let us do our thing. We should only take a day or two, then you’ll be all ready to move in,” added Chris Trott.  


The negotiations ended, and The Hat Films Zombie Extermination boys were quite happy with their outcome. Little did the settlement know that the three could carry quite a lot. They had a truck with a camper hooked up. Cars were a bit of a rarity in the world, since gas was hard to get their hands on, however, Alex Smith was a bit of a mechanical genius. It took a long time to figure out, the whole second year of the apocalypse, but he had managed to build an engine for their truck that ran on solar energy, gas was secondary, and they liked to keep a fair stock for emergencies, or night traveling. They also had green energy hookups for their camper, which meant working lights, stoves, microwaves, and a bathroom. They had to get tanks of water for the shower and the toilet, but they all worked, including the water heater. Long story short, the three were in a lot better shape than many of the communities they happened upon. Their clean appearance was also a plus in negotiations, people just like clean people.  


“How are we doing this boys?” Asked Ross Hornby as they walked the mile from the settlement to their parked home.  


“I’m thinking sneak in, than scope the premises, see where we can bait the zombies,” Chris said.  


“Whose turn is it to be bait?” Probed Alex. He knew it was his turn, he just really didn’t want to do it.  


“Alex, you know whose turn it is,” chidded Chris.  


“Don’t try to get out of it again. The only reason we let you out of it last time was because you had a cold, you’re in perfect health now,” Ross chimed in, half sarcastic, half optimistic and excited.  


“I know, I know. I was just hoping you two forgot,” Alex grumbled.  


“Come on then grumpy. We’ll get you kitted up, than drive over,” said Chris.  


Alex rolled his eyes, but he accepted his fate. Baiting was really the worst job. Generally they were kitted up in something that would smell appealing to zombies, then they were made to run around, kiting the zombies to the agreed area, generally a basement of some sort. They had a gun on their hip and a baseball bat in their hands, since it was the best for running. At first they had used sharp swords that they had found, but after one nasty spill and a big scare, they had switched to baseball bats.  


Soon they were back at their home, and getting ready to scout. They wouldn’t go through the baiting until the next day. First they assessed, then they made a plan, then they executed. It was a mall, so they could hopefully find a directory they could smash up and take the map from. Hopefully it wasn’t a digital map, those were annoying.  


The three wore muted colors, browns and greys, nothing too bright or too dark, something that would allow them to blend in. They had gone through a litany of outfit colors and choices for hiding, and they had found the best combination was neutral colors. After showers from all three to wash away their scents, it was time to set off again. While Chris and Ross finished cleaning weapons, guns with silencers, bats, the things that would work fairly quietly, Alex worked on unhooking their truck from the camper. There was no use driving the whole thing over, so instead they would keep their home parked while they took the truck over to the mall, park a distance away, then walk the rest of the way in.  


Alex walked into the camper and smiled at his friends. “Everything’s ready. Camper’s firm in place, and the truck’s unhooked and ready to get rolling.”  


“Good. Grab your gun and bat and we can get rolling,” said Ross.  


Alex did what was asked of him, and he gathered his things up. His bat had a dark green strip around the handle, Ross’s had a blue, and Chris’s had an orange so they each knew whose was whose. He slipped a baseball cap over his shaggy auburn hair and stepped towards the door. “Let’s head out guys, I want to get this over with before the sun sets.”  


With that, the three stepped out of their home and climbed into the truck. Alex drove, Ross sat near the window, and Chris, the smallest, got the middle seat. They used to tease him about it, but the joke had eventually gotten stale, even in their bleak world, where any laughter was much needed. The three were never really short of humor though, they were always cracking jokes on the road. At first it was because no one knew how to deal with the situation, it was too serious to be real, too many people they cared about had passed, but in time, they just settled back into their humor.  


After a few minutes of slow driving, Alex switched the truck to neutral and slowly rolled into the back of the parking lot. He turned the vehicle off and sighed softly.  


“Stick together guys, I don’t wanted anyone getting lost,” said Chris.  


“Okay mom,” said Alex sarcastically.  


Ross just chuckled without saying anything.  


The three climbed out and very quietly shut the doors to the truck. Even this far out in the parking lot there were zombies milling about. They could tell even from this far away that the mall had been a huge one, and not one of the dingy ones they had cleaned out before. It would be easier than a hotel, for sure, malls usually were, but they had never cleared out a mall quite so large before. Just from the outside, it could be incurred that the mall had been a modern one, running on green energy, probably solar, seeing as the lights boasting the Riverview County Green Mall were glowing at the entrance.  


“Let’s head in boys,” Alex whispered. The other two nodded in reply.  


They walked together in silence, shoulder to shoulder to shoulder. They easily walked through the crowd of zombies, brushing against them. The zombies were paying them no mind. Since they were showered and clean, the zombies couldn’t smell them, and since they were shuffling along, imitating the creatures, they were paid no mind. It took a few minutes to silently work their way to the mall entrance.  


As they approached the door, it was obvious that the glass of the doors had been busted out. Zombies milled in and out, occasionally cutting themselves on the broken glass and having others fall upon them. One such occurrence happened as they neared the front entrance. A zombie, a big buff one who had probably been a footballer in life, cut itself against the jagged edge of the door. It continued milling into the parking lot, with blackish blood sluggishly dripping from its arm. The other zombies were worked into a frenzy, and they descended on the creature, growling and yelling as they tore into the thing.  


The three men saw their opportunity and took it. They hurried their footsteps and slipped inside the mall. The lights were all on inside, and the place was packed to the brim with the undead. It almost looked like it would have once looked, in a different time. A zombie who was clearly once a mom walked by with a rotted child’s torso attached to a leash backpack she was holding. The monkey backpack dragged along the floor as the mom shuffled towards the entrance. Alex had to turn away.  


“Alright, I see the directory up ahead, let’s go check it out,” said Chris, patting his friend’s shoulder. Seeing such sights was hard on all of them, but he knew things were especially hard on Alex. His own family had tried to murder him when he was asleep in his bed. “Come on,” he again encouraged.  


Alex nodded and stepped forward, shaking the grizzly sight off. He glanced at the directory. It was a three story mall, four if the basement was counted, and five if the accessible roof was counted for. Apparently there was a garden restaurant on the rooftop, which was certainly overgrown by now with resources. He looked back at his two companions and nodded. The two took a post behind him, as he assessed the clear material around the directory. It was thankfully not electronic, and it was behind glass instead of plastic. The glass was thick though, which raised more issues. He brought his bat back and swang. It took four hits before the glass finally shattered.  


The zombies were already turning on them from the noise, and when the glass finally shattered, they started approaching. Alex was unlucky this time, as a shard of glass hit him in the cheek and he started bleeding. He reached in and took the faded paper map, and he of course cut his arm while pulling it out. “We have to go,” he said to his companions once he turned around. Both cuts were fairly deep, and they were dripping blood. The creatures were nearing and working themselves up into hysteria.  


Chris grabbed Alex’s arm and quickly started pulling him away from the scene, with Ross close behind. They were trying to avoid swinging their bats, but the quicker they went, the faster the zombies approached. “Ross go get the truck, we can’t make it through this parking lot,” Chris said urgently once they got out of the broken glass doors. Ross sprinted off away from his companions towards the truck.  


Chris pressed Alex and himself against the building so their backs were fully pressed against it. It was easier to guard if one of their sides was covered by a building. The zombies descended upon them, and their bats were pulled and brandished. It took only moments for the two to start bashing the zombies brains in. It was bloody and unpleasant, and chunks flew everywhere. The few minutes they were alone fighting off the horde felt like hours.  


Alex yelped as he felt a scratch go down his leg, and his pants tore with the ragged nails of the downed zombie. How fitting that it was the mother they had seen earlier. He lifted his leg and stomped, crushing the skull with his boots. He could see the lights of the truck pulling up, and he heard the screech of tires as it pulled up. He felt himself being tugged away by Chris, and he was slammed inside, Chris climbing in after and slamming the door.  


“You really will do anything to get out of being bait, won’t you?” Ross joked as he peeled away from the mall. Alex laughed softly as he held his arm wound.  


“Let me take a look,” Chris said softly.  


“The first thing we need to do is disinfect the leg wound. I am not fighting off the stupid infection again,” he huffed.  


Chris laughed as he looked over the scratches. In truth, the glass cuts were a lot worse than the little nail scratches, but Alex had always been paranoid about cuts from zombies. You couldn’t actually get the infection from a scratch, only bite wounds. Alex however, had been bit before, contracted the infection, and fought it off with the help of his friends. He still had an ugly scar, and zombies continued to freak him out because he almost was one. He was one of the lucky few. The three had had one other friend who used to travel with them, Chris’s girlfriend before the whole zombie apocalypse started, but she was bitten and couldn’t fight the infection off like Alex had. They had to shoot her once she turned. It was a tragedy, but really only one of many.  


“Alright, let’s get you all patched up,” Chris said as they rolled to a stop in front of their mobile home. The three climbed out and Chris sat Alex down in one of the faux leather seats so blood wouldn’t get on any of the fabric.  


Ross gathered the first aid materials and handed them over to Chris. He sat behind Alex and gently rubbed his shoulder, soothing him from the pain to come.  


Chris assessed the scratched first, since he knew it was what Alex was most worried about. He poured hydrogen peroxide on the wound first and let it bubble. Alex braced himself as alcohol was then poured on top once the first was done disinfecting. He flinched, but it was nowhere near as painful as his other wounds, so it wasn't too bad. He spread some disinfectant ointment on the wound, then sat up again. “Alright, there’s that taken care of. Let’s see the other two.”  


The other wounds were much worse than the first. Both were dripping blood, one down Alex’s face and the other his arm. He held a towel that Ross had snagged to the arm wound, which was much worse than the cheek one. Chris decided to deal with that first. He repeated the disinfectant process, then took a sterile towel and wiped everything away. “You won’t need stitches, so that’s good,” he smiled as he dabbed at it. He took a gauze pad and taped it to Alex’s face with normal office tape. They were out of medical tape, something they could hopefully fine tomorrow after they cleaned the mall of zombies. He moved on to the arm wound, which he took one look at and cringed. This would absolutely need stitches. “Ross, grab Alex a cloth he can bite on, this one’s bad.”  


Alex groaned loudly and shook his head. He hated stitches, they were the worst in his opinion. “Do we have to?”  


“Yes, don’t you want to stay healthy?” said Chris.  


“No,” he grumped. All the same, Ross came back with a damp towel and he held it to his friend’s mouth until it was bitten down on.  


“Alright, let’s clean it first,” said Chris as he drizzled hydrogen peroxide onto the wound. He repeated the alcohol process, then got an alcohol pad to sterilize a needle and a spool of nylon thread. Alex needed six stitches to cover the area. He screamed, because of course he did, it was painful, but he managed to make it through without passing out. Chris wrapped the wound in bandages after dabbing antiseptic ointment on it, then he pat his friends shoulder. “You’re all done Alex. Let’s get clean and get to bed.”  


Alex was grumpy, but he managed to do a fast washcloth bath before changing into pajamas and crawling into the biggest bed. They rotated beds from night to night so they would get to equally share in the master bedroom, the top bed, and the makeshift bed that came out of the couch. Their rule was whoever was hurt got the master bedroom though, and Alex was planning to take full advantage.  


“Who’s going in place of Alex?” Ross asked softly from the upper bed. The bed was elevated above a small dining/office like area that they mainly used for storage and planning.  


“I suppose I will. I don’t mind, I know you two have my back,” said Chris quietly. He could already hear Alex’s snores from the closed bedroom, so he didn’t want to wake the sleeping man.  


“Alright. You don’t think he did it on purpose?”  


“No, as much as Alex hates being bait, he wouldn’t hurt himself to get out of it.”  


“I know. It’s just getting close to the last time he got bit, so maybe he’s more nervous than usual.”  


“That’s probably true. Maybe that’s why he got cut in the first place, nerves.”  


Ross shrugged and rolled over. “Get to sleep, you need to be in top shape for tomorrow.”  


Chris rolled over as well, and it took only moments to fall asleep.  


The next morning, Chris was the first to wake, as usual. He prepared coffee, the last of the beans they had, and started getting their gear together for the day. Ross awoke to the smell of coffee, and Alex rose soon after that. “Gear’s all ready. I’m going to be bait in place of you, so don’t worry. Next time, you’re not getting out of it though,” he winked to Alex.  


Alex just smiled and nodded. He felt bad, he hadn’t actually meant to get hurt, and he knew he was probably the best at being bait, since he was fast and strong. He just didn’t like it. It was how he got bit in the first place.  


“Come on, drink up and shower, I want to get this over with quickly so we can be going by night fall. I’ve looked over the map and the route is drawn on. I’m going to get them to the basement, then we can figure out a way to exterminate them from their,” said Chris. He wouldn’t be showering, as the smellier he was, the better. He kept the cloths from the night before, which he would put on his person for the added blood smell.  


Alex was quick to shower and re-dress his wounds. He changed into more neutral clothes like the day before. He came back out to see Chris and Ross going over the day’s plan. He figured they would start on the roof and go down from there. Ross went to take a shower and Alex sat down so Chris could go over the plan with him. It was pretty much as expected.  


“I didn’t hurt myself to get out of this,” Alex said suddenly.  


Chris looked sympathetic and pat his friend’s hand. “I guess you heard us talking last night?”  


“No? I just guessed,” he sighed. He should’ve expected that from Ross though. He loved his friend, but he knew how suspicious he could be.  


“Well, you know Ross.”  


“I know. It’s alright. I promise I’ll be bait next time.”  


“I know you will be,” Chris smiled.  


Ross came out shortly after, showered and ready to go. They chugged their coffee and got ready. Chris was clearly putting off changing, but he finally did it at the last minute. The clothes were grimy and disgusting. Dirty and crusty from old sweat and blood. The clothes were old, and they kept them in a sealed box to keep the smell out of their house. The smell was pungent, and perfect for attracting zombies.  


“Let’s do this,” Chris said as he hit his freshly cleaned bat against his hand. He had cleaned his and Alex’s bats first thing that morning so they were clear of zombie brains from the day before. Each of them took a gun and plenty of ammo, and Chris took some extra so he could attract more with the noise.  


The three set out in the truck, off towards the mall. They parked towards the back again, and Chris would have to prepare himself before he started sprinting. The zombies would latch onto his scent as soon as the door was open. Chris would have to sprint off, then Alex and Ross would follow, a few seconds behind to help heard the creatures and protect their friend in case something bad happened. They would go to the roof, then go down from there, getting all the zombies they could. Once they had the majority following Chris, they would go into the basement, where Chris would run out through an emergency exit. They would lock the zombies in the basement and go round up any stragglers, then figure out a way to kill them all. The settling humans would have to figure out what to do with the bodies, that wasn’t their problem. Once that was taken care of, they would walk through and grab anything they wanted or needed to restock. This usually included every first aid kit they could find, any other medical supplies, food, clothes, toiletries, than anything else they wanted once they got those things.  


“Alright, let’s go,” said Chris. He took a deep breath, then opened the truck door and sprinted out. The attention was immediate. The zombies close turned and started shambling towards Chris. He yelled and screamed, making as much noise as possible as he sprinted towards the entrance.  


“Go,” said Alex as he slipped from the driver’s seat. Ross followed on the side Chris had left from. The two ran silently after Chris, herding the zombies in the back, and thwacking any that tried to take a chunk out of their bodies.  


The plan was running seamlessly. Chris made it up the stairs with no issue, and even onto the roof. He was surprised that there weren’t many actual creatures up there, but that was fine. He ran as far as he could towards the edge of the roof, then he made a wide loop so the zombies were all trapped up there. When he saw Alex and Ross emerge behind the hoard on the stairs, he looped towards where they were. “Shut the door!” He called to them, which they did, though they were confused as to why. They were trapping themselves on a roof filled with hundreds of zombies. “Follow me,” he yelled as he sprinted past his friends.  


Chris climbed an overgrown terrace that belonged to the outdoor garden restaurant. This left them twelve feet above the zombies, about six feet above the tallest’s heads. Ross and Alex scrambled up after Chris, and the three were left panting at the top. “Sorry, I needed a break,” he panted.  


“It’s alright,” assured Alex. “I needed a break too,” he laughed, breathless.  


“I think -” Chris paused as he panted, trying to catch his breath. “I think we can kill these ones by getting them over the edge.”  


Ross assessed the situation. He was the expert in the actual extermination part. There were enough zombies on the roof that some were already stumbling off the edge. 

“That could work. Give me that bloody rag Chris.”  


The rag was handed over, and Ross made his way to the edge of the raised terrace. Zombies followed. He had a feeling that was the smelliest thing on Chris. He got as close as he could to the edge, which was still ten or so feet away. The garden restaurant only stretched so far. He shot his gun at the ground, which attracted more of the hoard. He waggled the bloody rag in the air. He got lucky and found a big tomato growing on top of the terrace. He wrapped the tomato in the rag, the waggled it again to get the zombies attention. He tossed it over the side, and half the hoard went with it. He crawled back to his friends and smiled. “That takes care of some of them.”  


“Good job,” Alex praised, and Ross’s smile grew.  


Chris got an idea that he didn’t love, but he was sure it would take care of the remaining zombies left on the roof. “Alex, I need to reopen your wound,” he said as he neared his friend.  


“Chris, they’re going to come after me instead of the rag. I know what you’re thinking, and it’s a bad idea.”  


“If you can staunch the flow enough, it should work,” said Ross as he neared Alex.  


“Goddamnit you guys,” sighed Alex. He unwrapped the gauze and brandished his arm to his friends.  


Chris considered the arm, as well as the consequences. “Wrap that up, I have a better idea.”  


Alex did as he was told and wearily eyed his friends. Chris held out the rag, and he took it. “What am I supposed to -” he was cut off by a punch to his nose.  


“Sorry,” Chris apologized. He took Alex’s hand and held it up to the now bleeding nose. It wasn’t too strong of a punch, so the bleeding wouldn’t last too long.  


“Why couldn’t you punch Ross?” Alex yelled. The zombies under them responded with slow reaching hands up and loud groans. “Oh shut up!” He called down to them.  


“You take hits the best, and you were already injured,” he reasoned. Ross was just laughing.  


The blood flow lasted less than five minutes, and when it was done they had a newly bloody rag. Ross repeated his process of wrapping it around a tomato, then he whistled down to the zombies to get their attention. He threw the rag over the side, and most of the rest of the zombies went with it. There were only about ten or so left, which they could take out themselves.  


“Everyone’s breath back? Are we ready to take out the rest of the mall?” Asked Chris.  


Ross and Alex agreed, and they climbed down one by one from the terrace. Alex took the lead on taking out the rest of the zombies on the roof, since he was still a bit pissed off. Once the rest were done, they opened the door again, and Chris sprinted down the stairs.  


The rest of their clearing took them to the basement. After two floors of running into stores and gathering undead up, they made it to the basement. It was, thankfully, what Chris had imagined. There was a catwalk above the main floor of the basement. He sprinted down the stairs of the basement and spotted the emergency exit door. He hoped it wasn’t locked, as that had happened once or twice. He was off the catwalk stairs and into the main part when he spotted his friends behind the hoard. It meant they had gotten them all in. They were shambling down the stairs as he made his was over to the exit. He slammed into the door, and he could feel hands grabbing at his back. It was, mercifully, unlocked. He ducked out the door and slammed it shut. He could feel pushing against it, and he knew the zombies were still after him. He looked around and saw a dumpster a few feet off. He used his bat to brace the door as he speed walked over to the dumpster. He was definitely out of breath, but that was alright, the job was mostly done and they were so close to the pay off now. The mall was absolutely unlooted, which meant they had first pick of everything. He hauled the dumpster in front of the door and took his bat back. The zombies had stopped trying to get him, and instead he could hear them shambling about inside.  


Chris made his way back around to the entrance. It was strange seeing the mall so empty. He whistled to a distant zombie, who he just shot instead of going to the trouble of actually walking over and getting it with a bat. He shot it three times before it went down. Satisfied, he made his way to the basement, where his friends were discussing how to get rid of the zombies.  


Alex was arguing that they should just burn them, but Ross said that was a terrible idea and the whole mall would go with it. “I agree with Ross,” Chris said as he neared his friends.  


“Thank you.”  


“You punched me in the nose, I think that means I get to choose how we kill these guys.”  


“Not if it means we don’t get our goods. Besides, we don’t want to ruin our good name. And thirdly, this business is a partnership, which means we all get to vote,” Chris explained to his friend. He got a begrudging eyeroll in response.  


“I know!” Ross said finally. “How about we just get our assault rifle and mow them down? You can even do the honors Alex.”  


“Fine,” Alex pouted.  


Chris laughed and rolled his eyes. “I’m going to go get that and the truck so we can start getting resources. You two start grabbing goods.”  


Alex saluted his friend for comic effect. “Yes sir.” All three laughed as they set out.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading! I have a ton of ideas about this au, and I would love feedback on this story and the world. I tried to make everything as realistic as possible while still holding some notes of fantasy. Tell me what you thought! And I’d love to know if you’d like to hear more about these threes adventures or their pasts. Thanks again!


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